Bertha
Emma Blanchard, 89, a longtime resident of Waterbury, passed away in the
comfort of her family at the home of her daughter in Duxbury on Thursday
evening, October 27, 2011. Born in Waterbury on March 31, 1922, she was the
daughter of the late Benjamin H. Joy Sr. and Christie (Doubleday) Joy. Bertha
married Ralph W. Blanchard at the Advent Christian Church in Colbyville in
1947. Ralph passed away on January 9, 1981.

Bertha
attended Waterbury High School and following her marriage was happy and busy as
a homemaker and raising her family. A longtime member of the Advent Christian
Church, she was active in the children’s ministries and the Women’s Home and
Foreign Missions Society. She very much enjoyed hosting visiting missionaries
in her home and reaching out in fellowship to her neighbors on East Street.
Following the closing of her church in Colbyville she attended the Christian
and Missionary Alliance Church which is now known as the Green Mountain
Community Alliance Church in Duxbury. Her favorite pastimes included playing
the piano and the accordion, which she did by ear, and reading the Bible.

Having
been spared the difficulties of the recent floodwaters in Waterbury, she
recalled being carried on the shoulders of her father at the age of 5 as they
left their flooded home on Randall Street in 1927.

Bertha
is survived by her children, Barbara Jean Carter and her husband William of
Duxbury and Frederick R. Blanchard and his wife Deborah of Waitsfield; four
grandchildren, Lisa Palmer and her husband Eric of Waitsfield, Amy Denis of
Waitsfield, Bonnie Dalager and her husband Philip of Spencer, IA, and Jason
Blanchard of Winooski; eight great-grandchildren, Daniel, Jacob and Isaac
Palmer, Michael and Connor Denis, and Carter, Jackson and Malcolm Dalager; a
brother, William Joy of Calais; as well as nieces, nephews and extended family.
Bertha was predeceased by four sisters, Annis Burgess, Avis Warren, Charlotte
Joy and Arlene Leland, and two brothers, Maynard Joy and Benjamin Joy Jr.

A
celebration of Bertha’s life will be held from the Green Mountain Community
Alliance Church in Duxbury on Friday, November 4, at 11 a.m., with a reception
to follow at the church. Inurnment will take place in Hope Cemetery, Waterbury.
For those who wish, memorial gifts instead of flowers would be appreciated to
the Green Mountain Community Alliance Church Mission Fund, 4987 Vermont Route
100, Duxbury, VT 05676. To send online condolences please visit www.perkinsparker.com and Facebook.
Assisting the family is the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service
in Waterbury.